Haunting Love
by Hachi-and-Shiro
Summary: Riku Heart moves into his grandfather's old manor in the middle of a backwater town only to find out that the mansion is haunted by the spirits of the kids who were murdered there long ago. One ghost in particular catches his eye... -yaoi/shounen-ai
1. It's Not a New Life, Just Different

**Shiro: **_Yes, Hachi and I need to stop getting ideas for stories. Oh well, here it is. Hachi got this idea from playing the Sims 3. Did you know you can have a romantic relationship with a ghost and even have a ghost baby in that game? That's where the idea for this story came from. We could have used the Twilight Town mansion, but it just wasn't creepy enough for this setting. So, here it is. I wrote Riku's parts and Roxas' part and Hachi wrote the rest. Enjoy._

* * *

_**Riku's P.O.V.**_

It all started with the lost will of my grandfather, Xehanort. He died when I was in grade school, so I didn't remember much about him. It wasn't until I was sixteen that his will was found. It said that all his worldly possessions would pass to his daughter Aqua, aka my mother. So, because of that, we're moving out of our home in Destiny Islands to some backwater town called Nibelheim. From the oceans to the mountains; I was not looking forward to it.

The airship ride there wasn't so bad; I at least got to hang out on the deck and watch as we passed towns, rivers, and even a swamp. The town was exactly as I expected; old, dull, and colorless. There were only a few buildings and a well in the middle of town. There was an inn, a store, and…yup…four houses. Well, four houses and a huge manor that stood out like a golden chocobo in the back of town. Guess where I got to live? That's right, the manor.

"It'll be okay, Riku." My mother said as we walked through the town toward the old manor. "There are lots of kids here your age. You'll make friends in no time." She smiled at me. She may have been smiling, but her sapphire eyes told me she wanted to be there as much as I did. And I did _not _want to be there. She brushed some of her azure hair out of her eyes and turned to my father. "Hurry up, Terra."

I turned to see my father walking up to us carrying all of our bags. He was pretty strong for an old guy. Then again, we were each only allowed one bag. We only took what was really important to us, and the rest we sold. My father set our bags down when he caught up to us. He also had blue eyes, but his hair was brown. So why did I have silver hair? My mother said it was because my grandfather had silver hair. It must have skipped a generation.

"Well, here we are." My father said as he looked around the town. He crossed his arms. "It's not much to look at."

"True." My mother said. "But it's quiet and peaceful. We could go hiking on the mountain. And the beach is only a few hours away.

"A few hours?" I asked with a sarcastic tone. "It was a few _seconds_ away from our old home."

"I know, Riku. It's going to be tough adjusting here, but you'll soon see that this town can be just as fun as Destiny Islands."

"Yeah, right. I bet these people haven't even heard of Blitzball." I grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder. I didn't have very many possessions that held any value to me, so I had a small bag. "I'm gonna look around town before going to the house."

"Don't get lost!" My mother called after me. I sighed and kept walking. I could see the manor from anywhere in the city. How could I possibly get lost?

"Are you the one who's moving into the manor?" A girl came up to me wearing a brown skirt and vest with a white tank top underneath. She had dark brown cowgirl boots and a matching hat. I felt like I just fell into an old western.

"Uh…yeah." I answered. "My name's Riku. Riku Heart."

"I'm Tifa Lockhart." She held her hand out. "Pleased to meet you."

I shook her hand quickly. "So, what can you tell me about this town?"

"Nothing much. What you see is what you get. Well… there are the Seven Wonders of Nibelheim!"

"The Seven Wonders of Nibelheim? That's so cliché."

"I know, but I wasn't the one who called them that."

I couldn't help my curiosity. "What's the first wonder?"

"Lately, the town's drinking water has been coming out red. Could it be... blood?" She said in a creepy voice as if to try to scare me.

I rolled my eyes and looked at the well, then turned back to her. "Hold this." I handed her my bag and turned to the well. There was a ladder leading up to where I could look inside and see the water, so I decided to climb it. When I got to the top I was surprised to see that the water really was red. However, when I looked closer I saw a small round object at the bottom. I stuck my hand in and grabbed it quickly. When I pulled it out I noticed that it was a red marble-looking-thing. I turned and jumped down instead of taking the ladder again. I landed with a slight pain in my legs, but I didn't let it show. I handed the red stone to Tifa. "Here's your wonder. This crystal must have been turning the water red."

Tifa turned the round stone over in her hand. "Huh, well that's no fun. I guess it's now the Six Wonders of Nibelheim."

"Somehow that doesn't sound as cliché." I said as I retrieved my bag from her. "What are the other ones?"

"In the second floor of the inn, there's a painting of a girl, only sometimes she's not there. It's said she leaves the painting and wanders around in our world."

"Creepy."

"Up on Mt. Nibel, that's the mountain over there," she pointed to the mountain north of the town past the manor. "There are all sorts of dangerous monsters lurking about. The most dangerous of them are the bombs. Now, rumor has it one of the bombs is different from all the others. No one has seen it yet, but they say that it has a different face."

"Cool."

"Another one is…oh, I almost forgot. You know the manor you're moving into? We call it the haunted mansion."

"It's haunted?"

Tifa nodded. "We used to play in there sometimes, and every time we did something strange would happen. Anyway, they say there's a safe in the mansion, and every night, you can hear laughter coming out of it. But no one knows the code to open the safe,  
so we can't check what's inside."

"Laughter? Great, and I thought my dad's snoring was hard to sleep through."

Tifa laughed. "There's one more about the manor. They say there are secret underground caverns beneath it, and that there's a secret door leading down into them somewhere inside the mansion. And inside, you can here these bloodcurdling moans coming from deep within."

"Probably just some animal living under the house." I crossed my arms. "What else you got?"

"The last Wonder also has to do with the manor. Every once and a while you can see the figure of a boy standing in the upstairs window on the far right. I've seen him myself, so I know this one is real. The only thing is, no one has lived in that house since its previous owner died. That is, until you came along."

"So you're saying there's a ghost boy laughing and moaning in my house?" I raised my eyebrows. "Please, I don't believe in ghosts."

"Suit yourself. Don't say I didn't warn you." Tifa shrugged.

"Yeah, yeah." I turned away from her and started for the manor. I thought about the last Wonder she had told me, about the boy in the window. I unconsciously glanced up at the farthest right window on the second floor…and froze. For a split second I saw the figure of a boy with spiky hair looking out of the window. It left as quickly as it appeared. No, I _thought_ I saw it. It was a long journey from Destiny Islands to Nibelheim, and I was tired. It was just my eyes playing tricks on me. I just needed some food and sleep. There were no such things as ghosts.

_**Sora's P.O.V.**_

I looked up from the book I was reading as I heard voices approaching the manor. I quickly put the book away before staying still in the middle of the room. I felt my heart quicken as I heard the voices reach the front door. I floated over to the light switch and flicked it off just as the door to the mansion opened.

I peered into the entrance hall carefully as I saw two people enter. The first was a male with brown hair that spiked in different directions but was swept back neatly. He wore black skin-tight shirt and brown hakama pants. His belt was black and had a weird symbol on the front. To complete his outfit he had on black and gold colored boots. He looked nice but he also looked muscular which meant he could be trouble.

The second person was a female with short blue hair that came to just above her shoulders. She too wore a skin-tight blue shirt minus the sleeves that showed the top of her back and had a black corset appearance at the front. She wore what looked to be jogging shorts underneath skirt like clothing that split at her sides and was blue with white ribbons. On her arms were white arm sleeves that started just below her shoulder and hid her brown-tan colored gloves slightly. She wore to complete her outfit black and silver boots with knee black socks. She looked really kind; I felt a warm feeling when I saw her.

"Wow, it's really beautiful." The woman said as the man turned on a light.

"I know; you wouldn't have thought it'd be from the outside." The man said.

"I really think this will be a good place to live, even though it will take some getting used to." The woman stated.

"Yes, it was nice of Xehanort to leave it to you." The man replied as he put the bags down.

I froze as I heard him say Xehanort's name. I stayed where I was in the parlor rooted to the spot as I trembled scared. Were these people here to continue his work?

"It was nice of my father…" The woman replied with a sad smile.

"Aqua?" The man asked worried.

"I never got along with my father he was always away on business, but he still left this place to me…" She said as a tear fell.

"It shows how much he cared for you." The man replied.

As the two hugged I decided to take a chance and try to escape. I quickly floated past them and up the stairs as they broke apart. As I reached the top floor I hurried to the room I called my own, the only place I felt safe, and despite it being the most dangerous room.

As soon as I entered I began pacing the room as I worried about what might happen. I moved to my usual spot at the window looking outside. I stared down at the town that was in the distance and sighed. I glanced down when I saw something glint in the sunlight. What I saw made me freeze for a minute.

There in front of the mansion stood a boy, maybe a year older then I would have been. He had long silver hair that came past his shoulders and a bad boy look. It looked like he wore a black shirt with a white and yellow jacket over it and blue jeans.

He froze as he looked at the window where I was currently standing. I stood frozen for another second before quickly making myself disappear. I made myself reappear once I was away from the window and I began to shake. I floated to a hidden doorway and went through it.

I moved down the damp, dark stairway quickly and ended up inside a dark cavern. I quickly floated through it was I concentrated on my location. I couldn't help me eyes straying to a doorway that held five coffins inside of it and shuddered before hurrying through the other door.

I was in a laboratory, but I quickly left that area and entered another room that had books all over the walls. I moved down the book shelved hall till I reach the center where a desk rested. There at the desk were my four siblings.

The first was my eldest brother, he was named Ventus. He had blonde hair that spiked straight up and blue eyes that rivaled the skies. He wore a black t-shirt underneath a gray and tan vest which was covered by a jacket that had one half black and the other half white. He wore jeans that were black at the top till it got to the knees when it became gray and then became white before ending in black. To complete his outfit he wore black and gray tennis shoes and on his left wrist was a black and white checkered wristband.

The second was my second oldest brother, Roxas, who was also Ventus' twin. Like Ventus, he had spiky blonde hair that spiked straight up but his blue eyes rivaled the ocean more than the sky. He wore a black vest that was zipped up underneath a white jacket that had a black checkered pattern as the outlines. He wore jeans that started at black but when they reached his knees became tan colored. He wore tennis shoes that were blue and black with red lines on it. To complete his outfit he had a black finger band on his left hand index finger and a white one on his left hand middle finger. He also wore a similar wristband to Ventus' except the base color was black instead of white like Ventus'.

My last eldest brother was my twin, Vanitas. He looked exactly like me except instead of cinnamon brown spikes he had black hair that rivaled even the darkest night and instead of blue eyes that rivaled sapphires he had golden eyes that rivaled gold. He wore a simple black shirt underneath a black jacket with red lines over it and black jeans. His tennis shoes were black and red like the rest of his outfit.

The final person was my youngest sibling and the only girl, Xion. She had short black hair not as dark as Vanitas' that came to her just above her shoulders and blue eyes like me. She wore a simple turtle neck black t-shirt and dark blue jeans. To complete her outfit she wore boots that were a dark blue color.

"Where have you been?" Vanitas snapped at me as he saw me approach.

"I…was reading when they arrived." I replied.

"So you saw them?" Xion asked.

"Yes…a man and a woman, the woman is Xehanort's daughter." I told them.

"So then they are here to continue what he was doing." Vanitas snarled.

"Vanitas…" Ventus said in a calming voice.

"There is something else you're not telling us." Roxas said as he looked at me kindly.

"There is a boy that came with them." I replied reluctantly.

"And?" Roxas asked.

"He has silver hair like Xehanort's…" I replied.

"He is that bastard's spawn then." Vanitas growled.

I moved away as I felt a dark aura take over my twin. Xion seemed to grab onto my arm as she watched Vanitas wearily.

"Vanitas, let's not be hasty. We'll scare them out like all the others." Ventus stated.

"I'm not going to just scare them out; I'm going to get revenge." Vanitas snarled.

"We don't know if they are here to hurt us." Roxas said.

"Why else would they be here?" Vanitas roared.

"What if they don't know of us?" Xion asked.

"It doesn't matter, that boy is Xehanort come back to haunt us. He won't get out of here unscathed." Vanitas snarled.

Before any of us could reply he stormed off out of the room. I sighed sadly as the others slowly filed out of the room as well. As I walked out after them I glanced at the staircase to the manor, wanting to return to my room.

"Sora?" Ventus called.

I turned to him as he walked away from the door that led to the room we would sleep in.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"I know you want to sleep in your room, but it's dangerous so we have to sleep down here." Ventus said.

"But…" I started.

"It'll be fine." Ventus reassured as he led me into the room.

I could barely hold back my tears as I saw the five coffins that rested in the room. A long time ago we had brought down extra blankets and placed them on the coffins as make-shift beds. Xion and Roxas were already lying on theirs, Xion having fallen asleep and Roxas starting to. Vanitas sat on his with an evil smirk as he thought of ways to hurt the newcomers. I followed Ventus over to the other two coffins and lay down on mine ad Ventus retired to his.

It didn't take long for me to fall asleep as the others fell into a slumber. I knew that we were safe in this room, especially when Vanitas was awake. As I began to fall asleep I heard rustling as someone stood up. I sleepily listened as my brothers talked.

"We're going to go watch them." Ventus told Vanitas.

"I'm going to take the boy." Roxas stated.

"And I'm taking the parents." Ventus replied.

"Be careful." Vanitas said.

"We will be, watch after them." Ventus said.

"Don't worry if anyone gets past you I'll deal with them." Vanitas said.

I heard Ventus and Roxas leave the room as quietly as possible. I shifted a bit and felt a hand on my head.

"Sleep." Vanitas ordered.

I nodded tiredly and fell asleep as Vanitas returned to his bed.

_**Riku's P.O.V.**_

When I got inside I was surprised to see how clean everything was. I didn't know why, but I was expecting cobwebs and dust all over the place. "Not much of a haunted mansion." I said to myself. The floors were made of a dark wood and the walls were white. There was a staircase to the right that led up to the second floor where three giant stained glass windows sat, looming over the house. There were five other doors on the first floor. There were two on each side of the doorway, leading to what looked like smaller rooms that could be used for a study or something. Then in the middle of the room there were two more doors opposite each other to my left and right. The last door was in front of me under the stairs.

I figured the bedrooms were on the second floor like they usually were in places like this, so I climbed the stairs up to a hall that extended to the left and right. I could hear my parents from the left hallway, so I turned to the right. There was one door to my immediate right and another door down another hall that turned to the left. I figured since I had a theme of going right in this house I'd try the door on the right.

The room on the other side was small and consisted of a couch, a desk, a rug, and a weird painting on the wall. I noticed there was another door on the other side of the room, so I went through that one as well. I finally found a bedroom. The bed was in the right corner surrounded by windows. There was a chair next to it that seemed a little random. On the other side of the room was a large bookshelf that was stuffed with books. "Well, at least I'll have something to read." I said to myself. I had a habit of doing that when I was bored. To the right of the bookshelf was a rounded stone wall. It seemed very out of place. I walked up to it and put my hand on it. "What the hell is this?"

I suddenly got a chill that started through my fingertips and ran up my arm and down my spine. I pulled my hand away from the wall. I stepped back from it and turned to the bed. This mansion was already giving me the creeps. It didn't help that I realized by looking out of the window above my bed that this was the room I saw the ghost boy…no, there's no such thing…that I _thought_ I saw the….figure…in.

I walked over to the bed and set my bag down on the chair. I plopped down on the bed and laid back on the pillow. "Ghosts don't exist…" I said to myself. "It's just an old mansion with creaky wooden floors. People always make up ghost stories about places like this." I kicked off my shoes and turned on my side. The fatigue from the ride to Nibelheim was catching up with me, and soon I found myself drifting to sleep.

_**Roxas' P.O.V.**_

Ven followed the adults to the other side of the house while I watched the silver haired boy climb the stairs. I kept myself invisible; it one of the things I kind of liked about being a ghost. I watched as he went straight for the room where the secret door was. Vanitas was right; he is going to continue Xehanort's work! I followed close behind him as he surveyed my little brother's old room.

"Well, at least I'll have something to read." He said as he looked at the bookshelf. _Yeah, you'll have all of Sora's books. _I thought. _They're not yours; they're my brother's._

He walked over to the stone wall where the secret entrance was located. I started to panic and quickly flew over to him as he put his hand on the wall. "What the hell?" He said. Remaining unseen, I grabbed the boy's hand. He undoubtedly felt it, because he pulled away almost immediately. He took a few steps back from the wall and turned around to face the bed. He walked over to it and set his back on a chair before laying down on Sora's bed. "Ghosts don't exist…" He said. I had to stifle a laugh. "It's just an old mansion with creaky wooden floors. People always make up ghost stories about places like this." He continued as if he were trying to convince himself. Yeah, he was definitely going to be fun to scare. All the non-believers are the best screamers. He kicked off his shoes and turned over onto his side. I floated over to the stool next to the bookshelf and watched him as he fell asleep. I wasn't going to let him leave my sight for a second.

* * *

**Shiro:** _I hoped you liked the first chapter. The title of this chapter was taken from a song from the Sorcerer's Apprentice soundtrack called New Life. The verse is "It's not a new life, it's the same old one - just different"_

_What did Xehanort do to Sora and his siblings? Well, besides kill them of course. You'll find out in future chapters of Haunting Love. Please keep reading and reviewing!_


	2. This House is Trying to Kill Me

**Shiro:**_ Hey all! Wow, it sure took us a while to get this up, huh? Sorry about that. Here it is! We hope you enjoy it!**  
**_

* * *

_**Riku's P.O.V.**_

I struggled against the man above me as I felt his hands roam across my body. I cried out for someone to help me as I tried to fight the man. I felt tears begin to fall as my clothing was removed. Everything became blurry. Next, I watched as a black haired boy and a blond boy were injected with some sort of serum by the same man, and I couldn't help but let tears fall. I looked away as I heard the blond cry out and other boy yell curses and threats at the man. Everything blurred again. Then I stared at the man, my eyes wide with fear as he stepped closer to me. I let my gaze stray to the bloody knife in his hands and looked at the bodies I saw behind him. I looked at him scared as I tried to back further into the wall. I screamed as he grabbed hold of me.

My eyes snapped open and I jolted up in my bed. It was just a dream. I held my face in my hand as my breathing steadied. It figures that on the first night sleeping in this crapy place I'd have nightmares. I sighed and stood up. A glance out the window told me the sun was only just rising. I had never woken up so early on my own before. I remembered that I was hungry since I didn't have any dinner before I crashed, so I decided to go down to the kitchen to find some food and water. It seemed like every other step I took made the floors creak. Could this manor get any creepier?

_**Sora's P.O.V.**_

I awoke the next morning and sat up slowly as I looked around the room. I noticed that Vanitas had fallen asleep and Xion was still sleeping peacefully. I looked at Roxas and Ventus' beds and saw that neither of them there. I began to grow worried as I realized they must not have returned last night.

I got up and slowly floated through the door and up the stairs to the mansion. I knew if I was caught by Vanitas or the others I might be in trouble, but I had to make sure Roxas and Ven were safe.

As I floated through the secret doorway I saw no one in the bedroom. The bed was empty, but not made so I guessed the silver haired boy only just awoke. I saw no sign of Roxas or Ven anywhere. As I moved to the door I heard a noise from behind me and froze. I turned around slowly, my eyes wide.

I relaxed and had a small smile as I laughed quietly to myself. There was Roxas leaning on the wall sleeping in the chair. He was fast asleep and silently snoring. How Riku had been able to sleep through this I had no idea.

I walked over and watched Roxas with a smile. At least he was safe and sound, that's all that mattered. Before I could do anything else I heard laughter coming from another room down the hall. I shook my head as I heard it.

_**Ventus' P.O.V.**_

I turned a page of the book I was reading as the two on the bed slept quietly. I had been watching them since they fell asleep and had grown bored, but I found a book to read so I wouldn't fall asleep. I looked up as I heard someone shift on the bed.

I watched as the man, Terra I believed, snored loudly in his sleep and the woman, Aqua, tossed and turned. I saw her sit up awake and stiffened but she only glared at the man and kicked him before going back to sleep. I blinked at this odd action and let a quiet laugh escape.

I went back to reading my book and a few minutes later I was disturbed by yet another one of them stirring. I looked up and watched as Aqua again kicked Terra to stop him from snoring before going back to bed.

This action happened several times and finally after it happening for the fourth time I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing so hard. I was having trouble breathing so I quietly set the book down as I struggled to keep my mouth closed. I exited the room and went to another room down the hall.

I entered it and flew into the safe that was situated inside the room. As soon as I was safely inside the locked safe I removed my hand. I began to laugh as I remembered what I had just seen several times. I laughed so hard and long that if I was alive I would have felt a pain in my side and had difficulty breathing.

_**Riku's P.O.V.**_

I nearly dropped my glass when I heard the laughing. It didn't sound like either of my parents' laughs, so it freaked me out. Then I remembered what Tifa had told me. "The laughing safe…one of the Wonders of Nibelheim…" I set down my glass of half-drunk milk and headed up the stairs. It sounded like it was coming from one of the rooms on the left side of the hall. I stepped as quietly as I could and couldn't help but wonder how my parents weren't woken up by the laughter. When I reached my parents' room I found my answer. My dad's snoring was as loud as usual. I rolled my eyes and turned to the room across from theirs.

I pushed open the door and immediately spotted the black safe sitting right across from the door. I walked over to it and knelt by it. I could clearly hear laughing coming from it. I looked at the dial. "Hmm, if only I knew the combo." The laughing stopped, as if whatever it was had heard me. "It's probably just some mice who have a nest behind it." I stood up. "Though, it would be interesting to see what's inside. I wonder if my mom knows the combination." I walked out of the room and looked at my parent's door. "I'll ask her when she wakes up."

I went down to the kitchen to finish my snack, and then decided to get a little more sleep in my room. When I opened the door to my room I froze. There, by the chair near my bed, was a floating book. It was as if someone invisible was holding it. A page flipped, and then I lost it.

_**Sora's P.O.V.**_

Riku shouted and backed up against the wall. I jumped as I heard Riku shout and dropped the book in fear as I turned to him.

Roxas jolted awake. "Huh, wha?"

I stared at Riku, frozen, as Roxas woke up; Riku was pressed against the wall by the door. He was staring at me, and I just stared back, petrified. Roxas looked at me, and then saw Riku. He grabbed my arm and quickly took me through the secret door. I allowed myself to be pulled along.

"That was too close." Roxas said as he pulled me down.

"Thanks..."

"What were you thinking? You shouldn't have been up there!"

"I'm sorry...I was looking for you and Ventus...then I wanted to read..."

Roxas sighed, "Well, if you don't tell Vanitas I fell asleep on lookout, then I won't tell him you went up there."

"Deal."

Roxas laughed, "The look on his face was awesome. He was completely freaked!"

"Yeah..." I said, feeling bad.

"What's wrong?"

"I feel bad..."

"Bad? Why?"

"He looked so freaked out...I didn't want to scare him..."

"Didn't want to scare him? That's kind of the point. We scare them out so they never come back. That's how it's always been."

"Why do we do that though? They never did anything bad to us."

"Well...hmm, now that you mention it, I don't know."

"Did you ever think they might like us? I don't think they're dangerous..."

"We scare them because the living can't be trusted." Vanitas' voice said from behind us, making both of us jump. "They can never be trusted. Especially spawn of Xehanort."

We turned to Vanitas. "How do you know they can't be trusted?" I asked.

"Did you forget who killed us? Who they are offspring of?"

"You can't blame the actions of one on another if you don't know the other." I argued.

"I don't care! Look, if he is dead and we still haven't passed, then that means someone else needs to die before we can rest. And if that means killing his whole family, then so be it."

"What if that's not why we haven't passed! If you kill innocent people because you assume, then you're no better than him!"

Vanitas was taken aback by what I had said. He looked surprised, but then glared at me and turned away from Roxas and me. He floated away from us, and I looked down hurt, but still angry.

"That was kinda harsh, Sora." Roxas said.

"How was it harsh? It's the truth! What would have happened if we did kill them and we still didn't pass? Does that mean we killed innocent people?" I looked at my brother, "Wouldn't you feel guilty for killing them?"

"Yeah...I think we just need to let Vanitas cool off."

"Whatever..." I floated away from Roxas and headed towards the room, stopping at the door. I just stared at it, afraid and sad.

_Should I go in?_ I thought.

"Sora." Roxas said as he caught up to me.

"What?"

"I don't want to kill them either, but I won't go against Vanitas. It's your choice if you want to let them live." I watched him go into the room.

"My choice? But if I got against Vanitas...neither choice is pleasant..."

_**Riku's P.O.V.**_

"Riku, breakfast!" My mom called from the kitchen. I hadn't slept at all since I saw...I can't deny it anymore...a ghost. I rolled out of bed and started for the stairs. Most ghosts don't harm the living; that's what I had to tell myself so I wouldn't freak out. Whatever it was just wanted to read quietly in the corner, right? God, I hoped so.

When I reached the top of the stairs, I felt something push me hard from behind, causing me to lose my balance. As I fell I put my hands in front of me instinctly, but it didn't help at all. I cried out and fell down the stairs. Pain shot up my leg when I landed, and I reached for it, shouting in agony. I looked up at the stairs; for a split second I saw the form of a spiky haired boy laughing at the top.

"Riku!" My mom ran out of the kitchen and knelt beside me. "What happened?"

"Obviously he fell down the stairs." Dad said as he walked over to us. "This is an old house; one of the steps must have broken or something."

"No… I was pushed…" I tried to sit up, but a fierce pane shot through my leg, causing me to sit back down.

"That's impossible." Dad leaned down and picked me up. Normally I would have complained being carried like a girl, but the pain shut me up. "Let's get him to the doctor."

I was surprised that such a backwater town had a good sized hospital. Well, I wouldn't really call it a hospital, but it was too big to be called a doctor's office. I got my leg X-rayed, and the three of us were waiting for the doctor to tell us my leg had to be amputated, or something like that. That's me, ever the optimist.

The doctor looked at the X-rays, and then turned to us. "Well, it looks like it's just sprained, but I'd be very careful if I were you. Just because it's not broken doesn't mean it can't be further injured."

"We understand." Mom told her. "We'll make sure Riku's more careful."

"It wasn't my fault…" I mumbled.

"Riku, we'll discuss this later, not here." Dad warned me.

"Fine…"

"Thank you, Dr. Kadowaki. Let's go home, you two." Mom turned to dad and me.

"Thanks, doctor." Dad said with a slight bow.

"Do you want some help, Riku?" Mom asked me.

"No, I got it." I leaned against my crutch. "Let's get out of here."

"All right." Dad agreed, leading us out and back to our house.

When we got inside, mom went to the kitchen to warm up breakfast, leaving dad and me in the entryway. I could sense the awkward conversation forming already.

"All right, you can say what you want now." He crossed his arms and turned to me.

"Dad, I swear I saw someone on the top of the stairs after I fell. I was pushed."

"Riku, that's impossible. We're the only ones in the house."

"You have heard, haven't you? The entire town calls this the 'haunted mansion'. It was a ghost."

"There are no such things as ghosts. Even if there were, why would it harm you?"

"I don't know. I just know what I felt."

"Riku…" Dad sighed, "Just stop it. We're not leaving this house."

I sighed as well. "Whatever. I'm going to my room." I began to limp to the stairs.

"Riku."

I stopped and turned around. "Yeah, dad?"

"Try and get used to the house. I know it's new, but we should try to make it work. It's the last thing left of your grandfather that your mother has."

"I know…" I started to climb the stairs again.

"Thank you." I could feel him watching me in case I needed help. I did struggle, but I managed to get to the top of the stairs. I sighed and limped to my room.

I kicked open the door with my good leg and sighed again as I entered my room. "Man, now what do I do?" I looked at the bookcase. "Maybe I can read something…" I limped over to it and looked at the volumes on the shelf. A lot of them were books I had back home, books that didn't make the move. I smiled despite myself.

The shelf began to tilt, and I took a reflexive step back, on my bad foot. It gave and I fell back as books began to hit the floor as the shelf began to fall towards me. I closed my eyes and raised my arms in front of me, expecting to be crushed. Only, I didn't. Slowly I opened my eyes and saw the shelf stopped a few inches above me. I quickly crawled out of the way, and as soon as I reached my bed it fell to the floor with a loud thump.

I could only stare at it with wide eyes. "What the…what the hell…?"

"Riku?" I heard my dad run into the room, but I couldn't look away from the shelf. "What happened?" He asked in a panic.

"Th…the bookcase…fell."

"Are you all right?"

"Y-yeah." I finally looked at him. "Before it fell on me it…it stopped…"

"Stopped?"

"Yeah. It stopped in midair…and I was able to get out of the way."

"Riku, that's impossible." Dad sighed and rubbed his temples.

"But it-" I froze in midsentence when I spotted a figure with spiky hair sitting on the floor in front of the bookshelf.

"Riku?" Dad asked, concerned.

"Th…there! The ghost!" I pointed at the figure. Dad turned to where I was pointing, but when he turned back to me he looked confused. The ghost looked as shocked as I felt before disappearing. "It…he was there, I swear."

"I think you're just tired, son."

"…Maybe. Is breakfast ready?"

"Yeah."

"Can you bring mine up here?"

"Sure." He quickly rubbed my head and stood up.

"Thanks." I said as he left. I pulled myself up on my bed and shook my head. "It's like this house is trying to kill me…"

* * *

**Shiro:** _There's a lot more attempts on Riku's life in the next chapter! Keep reading and reviewing! Again, sorry this took so long. We had thought we lost all of this when my computer was taken away, but we found it!_


End file.
